Burnt Nerong boys receive much support from school and community

The four boys who were taken to hospital on Tuesday night, 24th March with burns after an explosion involving nitro fuel, were students of Bulahdelah Central School.

Sue Limon, Leonie Newton, Bev Brooker, Don Hudson
Sue Limon, Leonie Newton, Bev Brooker, Don Hudson

The school has pulled together, with local assistance, to create signed quilts for the boys after their horrific accident.

About 7pm on Tuesday 24 March 2015, triple-0 (000) was called to a Curlew Crescent Nerong home, near Bulahdelah, after an explosion occurred from four young boys playing with petrol ‘nitro’.

Bulahdelah Central School student
Raygan Massard-Davis

Myall Coast News report the details as: The boys received a remote controlled boat and were playing with it in the driveway of the Curlew Crescent Nerong home.

They were filling the boat with petrol when they began to play a little with the fuel for their toy, the remote controlled boat.

The Nerong children lit up a line of fuel that was split onto the driveway.

The ignited flame carried straight toward the petrol ‘nitro’ container and blew up – it exploded.

Bulahdelah Central School students
Lilly Brown yr7, Natasha Veith yr7, Joyrdyn-Lee Johns yr7

This petrol explosion caused bad burns to two of the boys’ chest, arms, face and legs.

The incident is a result of a misadventure gone very wrong. These young boys were aged between 11 and 13.

NSW Ambulance Inspector Pearce Benson, who was one of the first paramedics on scene, said the patients were very distressed when emergency crews arrived.

“Burns can be quite painful. A couple of them were quite apologetic, of course, to causing this sort of incident,” he said.

Parents did an exceptional job cooling down the boys’ burns by placing them in the baths and showers, and ringing emergency (000).

Bulahdelah Central School student
Harry Cole yr6

Principal of Bulahdelah Central School Don Hudson said that the school has put in place processes to support the students who were concerned and there were additional counsellors available.

A quilt that had been made by the Nerong craft group arrived at the school on Friday the 27th of March.

It was signed by the staff and students.

Mr Hudson said, “The quilts were donated by The Mid North Coast(NSW) Community Quilters and delivered to the school by Bev Brooker and Sue Limon.”

Leonie NewtonBulahdelah Central School teacher
Leonie Newton

“Students and staff wrote messages  of support to the two boys still in hospital.”

Mr Hudson said that he believed the quilts were delivered to the boys last weekend.

The ladies from the Community Quilters group make approximately 500 quilts a year and all are donated to worthy causes such as cyclone relief, Flood victims and other worthy causes.

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